Ripples
by Oriondruid
Summary: Some believe all possible Universes exist at once, within a larger Multiverse. This story is about one of those 'possible' worlds in which the repercussions of the trio's fight in the café off Tottenham Court Rd have a different, but wonderful, outcome.


**Ripples**

By Oriondruid

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**Plot Summary:** _Fate is not fixed and slight changes in events can produce an entirely different universe. Some believe all possible Universes exist at once, within a larger Multiverse. This is a story about one of those 'possible' worlds in which Harry, Ron and Hermione's fight against Dolohov and Rowle in the café off Tottenham Court Road has a slightly different outcome. The consequences of this then cast themselves forward like ripples in time, creating an entirely different future._

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**Disclaimer:** With regard to the following story, the characters and settings in this story belong entirely to the works and 'world' created by J.K. Rowling, even the one additional character I have imagined is based upon her work. I am grateful that she so kindly allows us, her fans, to enter her world and 'play' for a while. This is an entirely amateur work and not written for profit.

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**The fight in the café**

Harry, Hermione and Ron were sat at the sticky, Formica topped table of a small and somewhat grubby café, just off of Tottenham Court Road in Central London. They were discussing the events that had just occurred at Bill and Fleur Weasley's wedding reception, the attack upon it by Death Eaters and their options from then on.

As they sipped their coffees, (which were fairly revolting, being weak and watery), two men dressed in workman's overalls entered the café and went up to the counter, standing with their backs to the trio's table.

For some reason Harry felt suspicious of these two men and kept a watch on them, which was lucky as he saw the tall blond one withdraw a wand from his overall pocket and his partner follow suit. Harry shouted a warning to his companions and a short but vicious wand fight ensued, resulting in both of their attackers being hit by powerful stunning spells and knocked to the floor.

Cautiously walking up to the front of the café's wrecked counter Harry was able to immediately recognise one of their attackers lying there as being a Death Eater called Rowle, who had been present on the Astronomy Tower when Albus Dumbledore was murdered by Severus Snape. He was alive, but deeply unconscious.

Harry then walked to the rear of the counter, where the other Death Eater had taken shelter during the fight. He had stood up, breaking cover, to send a Killing Curse in the trio's direction, but Hermione had hit him with a stunner as he did so and he had fallen to the floor.

As Harry rounded the end of the counter he saw that the other man would never threaten harm to anyone ever again as he was lying, very obviously dead, in a pool of blood, with a large kitchen knife protruding from his chest. The knife had obviously been blasted off of the counter when it had been hit by the spellfire and it had dropped onto the floor, landing point up amongst the cardboard boxes and other wreckage. As a result the man had fallen on it when he'd been hit by Hermione's stunning spell.

"This one's Dolohov," Harry said. "I recognise him from the wanted posters. He's had it."

Hermione came around the counter and looked at the man's body. Upon seeing what her spell had done she became visibly shocked.

"Oh that's horrible," she said, starting to shake. "I never meant to kill him Harry, I swear I didn't," she said.

Ronald came up alongside Hermione and putting his arm around her to comfort her he said, "Of course you didn't mean it Hermione. They started it, it was a pure accident, not that Dolohov didn't have it coming, he was a wanted Death Eater and a murderer."

Harry added, "Of course it wasn't your fault Hermione. _They _attacked _us _and tried to kill us_, _it was pure self defence and you have nothing to feel guilty about. The question is what do we do with them?"

In all this the trio had forgotten the waitress who, because she'd been in the rear kitchen of the café and was wearing iPod earphones turned up loud, had heard none of the fight. She emerged through the kitchen door and screamed at the scene that met her eyes.

Thinking quickly, Harry swiftly hit her with a Petrificus Totalis spell and she fell rigidly in the entrance of the kitchen door. This action seemed to rouse Hermione from her state of shocked trauma and brought her back into the moment.

Harry said, "Ron, would you get the lights with your Deluminator and Hermione, can you please close the front blinds and lock the door, we need to sort this out."

Having secured the scene, confiscated Rowle and Dolohov's wands and made sure Rowle was still well 'out for the count', the trio sat back at an undamaged table and by wand light began to work out what to do next.

Hermione was now back to something more like her normal self. She said, "I suggest we simply repair all spell damage at this end of the café, leaving no trace of our ever having been here, but we'll leave the counter end more or less as it is. I'll obliviate Rowle to the max, so he is unable to remember anything about what happened or about our presence here, that will also help keep him 'out' for a while."

"But what about the waitress?" Harry asked.

"Don't worry about her Harry," Hermione replied. "I'll modify her memory so that she only remembers those two coming in and starting to fight. Resulting in Rowle stabbing Dolohov and herself hitting Rowle over the head with a cooking pot as he did so, knocking him out. He has a small head injury from his fall, so there's no need to bash his head in again. We'll need to put Rowle's fingerprints onto the knife though, it'll not be pleasant but the muggle Police will check."

Ron and Harry both immediately volunteered to move Rowle around to the other side of the counter and set up Hermione's scenario.

"That's perfect Hermione, you're brilliant you are!" Ron said grinning, as he and Harry went back up to the counter to perform their somewhat grisly task.

"Like I said earlier Ronald, when were getting changed out of the wedding gear, always the tone of surprise." Hermione said, grinning back at him and very much back to her usual, more cheerful self.

When the boys had finished moving Rowle and had carefully wrapped his hand around the knife handle to leave his fingerprints, Hermione, who had been working on modifying the waitress' memory said;

"OK, I've finished here, that should do it. We can send the waitress off to the muggle Police Station we saw just around the corner to report what happened, then we'll just leave by the back door. She'll be a heroine for capturing Rowle and he will be held by the Police for questioning. Without a wand and with no muggle ID, with his prints on the knife and being unable to remember what happened he'll probably end up going to muggle prison for murder. It's no more than he deserves and better than he'd get in Azkaban, 'cos he's a murdering Death Eater too."

Hermione then approached Rowle and, pointing her wand at him, cast a strong Obliviate spell to wipe his memory

"That's that done then, now let's send the waitress on her way and get out of here, the quicker, the better." Said Ron.

"Yes, I agree," added Harry. "Then I think we'll go to 12 Grimmauld Place."

"But what if Snape's there," Hermione cautioned. "He knows about the Order's Headquarters."

"I hope he is there," Harry replied. "After what he did to Dumbledore I'd relish the chance to fight him!"

_Fate is not fixed and events in time can be re-written, for better or worse. The events in the café began to ripple forwards and changes began to manifest..._

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**The Battle of Hogwarts.**

Nymphadora Tonks-Lupin ran into the heat of the battle in the grounds of Hogwarts School, seeking her husband Remus. As she made her way through the chaos of the battle she was forced to defend herself against many curses and jinxes, often just semi-randomly cast or ricochets and not specifically targeting her. In return she used her Auror's combat skills to return 'fire' more accurately at many enemies. Rounding some collapsed masonry however she was shocked to see someone she knew, someone very dangerous...

Her husband Remus Lupin had been in the thick of the fight and duelling a Death Eater, near to a pile of rubble from the collapse of a spell damaged wall. A skilful stunning spell from his wand had hit the Death Eater and knocked him to the ground, where he lay unmoving. As is often the case in a frantic battle Remus found himself temporarily without an opponent, the centre of hostilities having moved away. He was now in a small pocket of calm in that part of the grounds. Remus decided to head back towards the castle, from where he could hear the sounds of more intense fighting raging. As he passed a semi-collapsed stone column he felt a strange sensation of 'deja vu', and that 'someone was walking over his grave'.

Little could he know it, but had Dolohov still been alive and not died in the café fight then this was where he would have ambushed Remus. He would have killed him from behind with a cowardly Killing Curse, as indeed he had done in some other versions of the Multiverse.

Shaking off the strange sensation Remus headed on and upon rounding another pile of collapsed masonry he saw his wife Nymphadora Tonks. She was battling with her insane Aunt, Bellatrix Lestrange, and obviously coming off the worse in the fight. Tonks was duelling her hardest and using all her skill, but Bellatrix was simply the more committed, murderous and skilled opponent. It was taking all of Tonks' ability to ward off the continuous stream of curses and jinxes coming at her from her Aunt's wand and Tonks was tiring fast. She knew that soon a curse would surely slip through her defences and she'd die, but she fought on bravely, hoping against hope.

Remus was shocked to see his wife in the midst of the battle, as she was supposed to be at home with their infant son Teddy. He yelled her name and both she and Bellatrix swung round in surprise and momentarily halted their fight. Then Bellatrix sent a powerful jinx at Remus, which he only just dodged as he ran to Tonks' side. United they began to fight Bellatrix, shoulder to shoulder.

Under their combined onslaught Bellatrix was forced to give ground, then, experienced duellist as she was, realising the couple together were too strong for her, she flew off in a trail of black smoke. Seeing her gone the couple fell into each other's arms and kissed in relief.

Still shocked to see Tonks at Hogwarts Remus, sounding angry, asked her, "Dora, what the hell are you doing here? You're supposed to be at home with your mother and Teddy. It was crazy for you to come here tonight, if I hadn't shown up that vile hag might have killed you."

Tonks replied, sounding a little guilty, "I'm sorry Remus, I tried to stay home, I really did, but it was tearing me apart knowing you were here and in danger. I had to come."

"Dora, Dora," Remus said more gently, hugging and kissing his wife. "I suppose I always knew you'd come. It's not in your nature to hide whilst others are putting themselves on the line. I've always said the bloody Sorting Hat put you in the wrong House, you're really a Gryffindor through and through and that's where you should have been placed. Anyway, we can't stay here, we're too easy a target out here in the open. Let's try and get back to the castle and rejoin the main fight."

As they made their way back towards the sound and fury of the battle they saw, collapsed by the foot of a burned and splintered tree, the figure of a small young boy.

At first they took him to be dead, but upon checking more closely they discovered he was still alive, although obviously badly hurt. Around his neck on a leather strap Remus saw the broken remains of a camera and despite the dirt and injuries the boy's face bore this enabled Remus to identify him as Colin Creevey. Remus remembered from the time he was a Hogwarts teacher that Colin never went anywhere without his camera around his neck.

Aurors undergo basic medical training and after swiftly examining him as best she could Tonks said; "We must get him to Madame Pomfrey quickly, Remus. He needs skilled medical help urgently or he'll die."

Remus picked up the boy gently in his arms and the pair carefully, but swiftly, made their way through the fighting, avoiding the worst of the 'hot spots', with Tonks providing defensive 'covering fire' to Remus as he carried the boy. They made their way into the castle, through a breach in the wall, then headed up to the heavily defended medical wing, handing over the boy's care to the school's Matron, Poppy Pomfrey and her team of volunteers.

Madame Pomfrey examined the boy thoroughly and began to tend his injuries, telling the couple that their swift action had probably saved Colin's life and that he should make it, thanks to them.

The couple then headed out together, back into the madness of the war still raging outside, frightened, but feeling strangely confident that the worst was over and that united they would surely triumph.

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**Epilogue: 19 Years Later.**

Teddy Lupin had come to see his younger sister Harriet off to school on the Hogwarts Express, for her final year. At least that was the story for 'public consumption'. Whilst it was in fact true he also had another reason to be there, as Harriet was best friends with another girl and it was _her_ that he was mainly there to see off. He scanned Platform Nine and Three Quarters and beamed when he spotted her through the clouds of steam, calling her name and waving to her.

"Victoire, Victoire," he called and ran into her arms. They were still hugging and kissing, completely obliviously, as his parents and sister made their way up the platform to where the couple stood.

Remus and Tonks smiled to see their son so obviously in love, but Harriet said, "Ew, you two, get a room. It's not like you haven't spent most of the summer holiday together. Put my best friend down right now Teddy Lupin!" The young couple swiftly let go of each other and stood holding hands, blushing slightly, but smiling.

Remus and Tonks laughed gently at their discomfiture, but then Tonks turned to Harriet and asked her if she had double checked that everything she'd need for her final term was packed in her trunk.

"I _triple_ checked everything Mum, don't worry," Harriet assured her mother, smiling.

''That's good sweety,'' Tonks replied and she then handed her daughter another small bag which clanked a bit and said. ''These are the presents I said I'd ask you to take to Headmistress McGonagall and Professor Hagrid. Be careful not to break them and make sure you don't mix 'em up when you wrap them, to give at Christmas. The Glenlivet is for Minerva, she's partial to a dramm of malt, Hagrid's is the Ogden's Old Firewhiskey. It'd be best to ask Madame Pomfrey to keep them locked up safely for you in her medicine store, until they're needed.''

Just then the conversation was interrupted by the appearance of two other couples, their friends, Harry and Ginny Potter and Ronald and Hermione Weasley. Their children were also in tow with trolleys full of luggage.

Harry Potter and his worried looking younger son Albus Severus seemed to be having an intense talk, but whatever it was about it appeared Harry was able to reassure his son and he began to smile. Albus was about to start his first year at Hogwarts, along with his cousin Rose Weasley. They were very good friends, not to mention both very smart and potential Ravenclaws, although of the two Rose was by far the more self-confident.

"Go on with you then Albus, and be sure and owl us to let us know how the Sorting went." Harry said, hugging him goodbye. James Sirius, the older Potter boy, had already said his goodbyes, having hugged and kissed his parents and boarded the train with his friends.

Soon all three family's children were safely boarded, with Lily Luna, the Potter's young daughter, complaining loudly and bitterly that she wanted to go and being told it would be her turn in two years.

Soon the scarlet train's whistle blew and with the children's loving families waving goodbye it steamed off, into a bright future.

All was well.


End file.
